1. Technical Field
This invention relates to wheel barrows and, more particularly, to a motorized wheel barrow for transporting objects between remote locations.
2. Prior Art
Whether you're building something, erecting a brick wall, or just doing general garden cleanup, you need something in which to carry the stuff. For centuries, it's been the wheelbarrow, a one-wheeled, hand-guided cart. Wheelbarrows always look as though they have been around forever. In fact, they have. Records suggest that the first wheeled vehicles, two and four-wheeled carts pulled by oxen, were made in about 3,500 BC by the Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia. Wheeled technology spread rapidly through much of Europe and Central Asia, reaching China in the middle of the third millennium BC. In return, the Chinese gave us the wheelbarrow.
Legend has it that the first wheelbarrow was the brainchild of a Chinese inventor, Ko Yu. However, most sources credit Chuko (Zhuge) Liang (181-234 AD) as the wheelbarrow's true inventor. The wheelbarrow is one of the best labor saving inventions ever developed. A wheelbarrow is a small one or two-wheeled cart designed to be pushed by a single person using two handles at the rear. They are designed to ease the transport of heavy, often loose, loads and are common in the construction industry and in gardening.
The basic concept has remained the same for centuries. It's a simple device that handles outdoor jobs such as moving bricks, dirt, cement, compost, trash, leaves, and other materials. Although wheelbarrows are simple devices, a visit to any hardware store or home and garden center shows that they are available in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. One of the biggest disadvantages of the conventional wheelbarrow is the fact that a user must entirely operate the apparatus under their own power. Thus, persons like the elderly and those who are physically compromised may not be able to do tasks that require the use of a wheelbarrow. Obviously, it would be advantageous to provide a wheelbarrow that makes it possible to easily transport large loads.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,801 to Hoover discloses a motorized wheelbarrow for transporting materials placed therein from one location to another comprising a rigid container having a front portion, a rear portion, a lower portion, an opened upper portion, and a hollow space disposed between the portions adapted for holding materials to be transported. An elongated axle is coupled to the lower portion of the container adjacent to the front portion thereof, and a pair of wheels are included, each wheel rotatably coupled to an end of the axle. The wheelbarrow further includes a pair of legs extending downwards from the lower portion of the container adjacent to the rear portion thereof for holding the container in a generally level and stationary position, a pair of handles coupled to the container and extended from the rear portion thereof for raising the rear portion, a motor coupled to the container, a drive mechanism coupled between the motor and axle for transferring rotational motion from the motor to the axle and wheels for transporting the container, a battery coupled to the container for energizing the motor, and a control switch connected between the motor and the battery and coupled to one of the handles. The control switch is operable in one orientation to energize the motor and another orientation to de-energize the motor. Unfortunately, this prior art example is not designed specifically for hauling larger loads.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,000 to Hillbohm discloses a motorized wheelbarrow that comprises a pan for receiving a load to be transported by the barrow, at least a wheel arranged to bear on the ground and a motor arranged to rotate the wheel for moving the wheelbarrow over the ground. The motor is located under the pan and with its center of gravity in front of a vertical plane including the axle of rotation of the wheel as seen in the direction of movement in the transport position of the wheelbarrow. Unfortunately, this prior art example is not designed specifically for hauling larger loads.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,745,859 to Simons discloses a powered wheel assembly for use in connection with a wheelbarrow that includes in one embodiment a frame that includes support members, a wheel assembly that includes a wheel, an axle, an axle housing, a pin for connecting the axle and axle housing, and a drive assembly that includes a primary gear drive and a final chain drive. Upon retrofit to an existing wheelbarrow, the powered wheel assembly permits an operator to selectively operate the wheelbarrow in a powered and non-powered mode of transport. Unfortunately, this prior art example is not designed specifically for hauling larger loads.
Accordingly, the present invention is disclosed in order to overcome the above noted shortcomings. The motorized wheel barrow is convenient and easy to use, lightweight yet durable in design, and designed for transporting objects between remote locations. The device is simple to use, inexpensive, and designed for many years of repeated use.